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Iwi hoping to move foward
Monday, July 30, 2012 • Marino Harker-Smith
THE repatriation of an iconic meeting house and recognition of the Maori name of Young Nicks Head are potential milestones for two Gisborne iwi.

Te Hau ki Turanga meeting house at Te Papa Museum has been returned to Rongowhakaata ownership and the headland will now be officially recognised as Te Kuri a Paoa/Young Nicks Head.

Settlement bills were passed unanimously in their third and final reading in Parliament last week for Manutuke-based Rongowhakaata and Muriwai iwi Ngai Tamanuhiri.

It means two of the three Turanganui-a-Kiwa iwi will have their deals signed into legislation, with Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki still in negotiation with the Crown towards a deed of settlement.

Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust chairman Stan Pardoe said a 20-year journey was almost complete and they could now move forward.

“We negotiated in good faith and though there are some issues we feel were not adequately addressed, we can move forward with what was offered.”

The Rongowhakaata redress package is the larger of the two settlements and includes $22.24 million financial compensation, several key commercial properties as well as returning Te Hau ki Turanga meeting house to iwi ownership.

The elaborately-carved Rongowhakaata meeting house, which was confiscated by the Crown in 1867, is a key attraction at the national museum, Te Papa, though the iwi’s deal with the Crown could see it eventually returned to Gisborne.

The meeting house was built at Manutuke near the present Latter-Day Saints chapel, Mr Pardoe says.

He was pleased to see the Crown had acknowledged in the bill “quite specifically” that the meeting house was taken by force.

It was their desire to see it returned to Gisborne one day but that would also depend on factors such as the ongoing cost to preserve what was now a national icon, he said.

“The process is not going to be rushed but we hope to get an outcome that will be beneficial to all parties of Rongowhakaata, as well as recognising the national significance the meeting house has attained since it has been at the museum.

“We will always own it but we are willing to share it,” said Mr Pardoe.

“New Zealand owes Rongowhakaata something for the use it has had of the whare over these years.”

A Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust was elected last year to be the mandated entity to manage the assets on behalf of the people and a hui-a-iwi at Manutuke later this year would discuss the vision.

“It will take a few years to work through but this is a start.”

Ngai Tamanuhiri Iwi Trust chairman Hope Tupara said their focus would now turn to Vision 2035 — the iwi’s long-term strategic plan on how they would manage their new assets.

“Our putea is quite small compared to other iwi, so we have to be vigilant with opportunities as our people also want to see it grow,” she said.

Ngai Tamanuhiri’s settlement package includes financial redress of $11.07m and returning ownership of Young Nicks Head, with the settlement also to officially recognise the Muriwai headlands Maori name – Te Kuri a Paoa.

Mrs Tupara said they would officially receive their assets within 20 days after the bill was enacted.
NATIONAL ICON: Representatives from Manutuke iwi Rongowhakaata and the Crown in front of the iconic Te Hau ki Turanga meeting house at Te Papa Museum which was returned to iwi ownership as part of a settlement deal confirm last week. File picture
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